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As the Beijing Olympic Winter Games approach, Chinese peasants are forced by the authorities to cede their land. They want to build gigantic solar and wind farms there.
In Zhangjiakou, in China’s Hebei province, a snapshot captured the cold anger of a farmer who was forced to give up his land to make way for solar panels. Authorities are demanding that the 2022 Olympic Games be powered entirely by clean energy. The transition is carried out by forced march, with the expropriation of land. “The authorities claim that it is forbidden to build on this land. So what do you think it sounds like a ban?”, annoys Pi, a Chinese peasant, pointing to solar panels.
“If you want to make a report, you will be suppressed, jailed and sentenced “
Because their land has been seized, farming families have become impoverished and no longer have enough to buy wood for heating. “They said it was land unsuitable for cultivation, but it is very good land. They promised 400 euros for half a hectare, but in the end they gave nothing.”, laments Xu Wan, a farmer. Farmers were also to receive free electricity, which is not the case. A few demonstrations were attempted, but the contracts eventually all had to be signed. “File a complaint? But who to report all this to? It’s like a mafia. If you want to report, you will be killed, jailed and sentenced.”, indignant a peasant. The electricity companies, for their part, deny any compensation problem.
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